Writing: Organizing your Essay

Reading the essay prompt:

Prompt: Using the three pieces of text, Beneatha and Asagai’s conversation about Beneatha’s hair in A Raisin in the Sun, Dr. Clark’s study that was influential in Brown vs. Board of Education, and the CNN video clip “Doll Test”, explore how a person’s self-perception is influenced by his/her social environment, specifically the effects of racial discrimination. In writing your essay, consider how each text conveys the effects of racial discrimination on a person’s/child’s self-perception. Your essay should be two pages in length. Be sure to use evidence from all three texts to support your ideas.

Body paragraphs

-Your body paragraphs are the parts of your essay in which you prove your thesis. -You must use the evidence that you are given to support the claim you are making. -You must also prove that the specific evidence you are using does indeed support the point you are making.

Body paragraphs: Topic Sentence Organization

Using three different texts to support your claim is challenging; however, you should NOT do the following when organizing the main idea (topic sentence) of your body paragraph:

Do NOT do the following:

Body Paragraph #1: Beneatha and Asagai’s conversation about her hair illustrates how Beneatha has internalized unattainable white standards of beauty.

Body Paragraph #2: Dr. Clark’s 1947 doll test experiment demonstrated how racial prejudice severely inhibited black children from developing a healthy self-perception.

Body Paragraph #3: The CNN clip, “Doll Test” further illustrated that due to racial prejudice, children, particularly black children, internalize stereotyped, limited perceptions of themselves.

Thesis Statement:

Racial discrimination hinders a person’s ability to form a healthy self-perception, as that person is excluded from standards of beauty, behavior, and morality. Consequently, once a person internalizes racially stereotyped views of his/her own race, this person may be unable to perceived her/himself as having control over self-perception.

Do the following!:

-Organize your body paragraphs according to the idea/topic you are discussing-Then within your body paragraph, you will discuss how the three pieces of text (Raisin, Dr. Clark’s study, & CNN clip) support your idea/topic

Body Paragraph #1: Racial discrimination fractures the emerging self-perception within a person.

-Evidence A: Beneatha and Asagai’s conversation-Evidence B: Dr. Clark’s Doll Test-Evidence C: CNN clip

Body Paragraph #2: Once a person internalizes racially stereotyped views of beauty, behavior, or morality, he/she is unable to realize his/her own power to determine his/her self-perception.

-Evidence A: Beneatha and Asagai’s conversation-Evidence B: Dr. Clark’s Doll Test-Evidence C: CNN clip

Conclusion:

-Reflect upon your thesis (the main position your are arguing, including your two topics/ideas-Provided a concluding broad statement about the your thesis.